CHAPTER 5
.:Appearances can be Deceiving:.
Green eyes reflected light and shadow alike as it's head slowly turned. The eyes slightly narrowed as they rested on Barbara and Wade, now being served a giant variety platter. Small precise paws padded to the end of the branch, then became airborne as the furry body was propelled onto the balcony. Speed was of the essence as the cat dashed between legs, both table and human. It's fur was slicked back by a wind of it's own creation as it leaped on the table currently occupied by Barbara and Wade and swiped a paw at a large prawn on the edge of Wade's plate.
"Come here kitty! What are you doing?" Barbara said to the cat as she snatched it from the tabletop. "Here you are, have one of mine." Barbara dropped a prawn into the cat's open mouth and watched as it chewed.
Wade seemed less than pleased. "Are you sure you should give it one of those? It is our lunch, and this was meant to be our special time together."
"Are you jealous of a cat? It was just hungry; don't worry about it stealing our time together. I don't think that's very likely to happen."
Just as the two (and the cat) were getting back to their lunch, the waiter came to the table.
"I am afraid that we cannot allow animals in here for health reasons. If you insist on keeping that cat with you then you must leave."
Barbara thought for a moment and then got up. "Can we get the rest of our meal to take home?" The waiter nodded and took their barely touched plates to the kitchen.
"As I was saying," Wade said as they made their way to the front desk, "I don't think they allow cats in here."
*******
Richard sat in his armchair in front of the fireplace, waiting for Jack to come back. He would go out and do his own work instead of relying on bumbling idiots like him, but he was wanted in at least five states. This was one of them. But here was the only place where he could carry out his plan, a plan of pain and revenge.
No disguise could hide his muscular six-foot-eleven-inch tall body, or the brutal scar that went all the way across his forehead. He had got that scar years ago from a woman -a woman!- dressed up as a bat. She had paraded around the rooftops at night, dispatching criminals, making everything against the law her business to end. He had sold stolen weapons on the black market for a living. Every week a new shipment had arrived with him at it's head, ready to receive tens of thousands of dollars for his pains. But for that costumed woman, he would be filthy stinking rich right now.
He wasn't thinking about any of that right now. His attention was focused solely on the future, and his revenge. Soon…
The door opened, revealing Jack dragging a teenager behind him. Her hands were tied behind her back and her mouth was gagged and taped closed with duct tape. Her light brown hair was falling out of the ponytail it had been tied up in just half an hour ago. She fell forward onto the expensive Persian rug as Jack triumphantly shoved her forward.
"I got one! Hardly put up any fight at all."
Richard eyed his employee for a minute, letting the man get the full force of the anger in his gaze. Jack shrank back towards the door.
"How could you be so rude? Here, let me help you up." Ripping the tape off and untying her hands, Richard held out his hand to the girl. She roughly shoved it aside.
"I don't need help." She pushed herself up and stood tall before the expensively dressed man. She looked like a doll beside his considerable height.
"Fine, that's all right. Jack!"
"Y-y-yessir?"
"You are dismissed. I asked you to bring me a girl, not rap one up in duck tape and present her to me like a hunting trophy!"
Without a backward glance Jack rushed out of the room, slamming the door on his coat in the process. The last the teenager saw of him was a coat hem dragged from between the door and its frame. Everything was deathly quiet for a minute after his departure.
Richard was the first to speak, and, like the gentlemen he wasn't he started with a polite question.
"So, what is your name?"
"Why should I tell you?"
He pondered for a minute, pretending to think, then answered, "Why not?" He had been prepared for this all along.
The girl narrowed her eyes as she answered. "May. Who wants to know?"
"My name is Richard. It's a pleasure to meet you." The way he stressed the word 'pleasure' implied that it was anything but. "Now May, I'd like to ask you a favour. You won't have to do much, just stand around. Will you do it for me? Afterwards you can go straight back to wherever you came from."
It was May's turn to ponder for a second.
What does he want me to do? It can't be that bad, if it's just standing around. Then I can ditch this place and give the police the heads up about their child abductor. What's the worst that could happen?
"Fine, I'll do this one thing for you. Then I'm out of here, got it?"
"Perfectly."
*******
Helena stood next to Dinah, watching the washing go round in the machine. She had just told Dinah her story and was awaiting the verdict as the teenager gaped at the photo. They stood in silence, ignoring the people staring at them. It wasn't every day that you saw a beautiful dark-haired woman dressed totally in black leather at the local Laundromat.
Finally Dinah spoke, breaking through the gentle sounds of average people washing, drying, and folding their clothes.
"That's it. The panther, the songbird, and now the lizard."
"What's next?" Helena asked, though apparently to no one in particular.
Dinah still vividly remembered her dream, and answered, "A wolf."
Helena looked at her with narrowed eyes and a head tilted slightly to one side. "Is there something you're not telling me? I'm sorta getting that feeling…"
"I had a dream, that's all." Dinah cut in. "But that's not the point. Right now we have to see if it's still there. You can grab the laundry." Dinah pulled the dry clothes out of a dryer as Helena grabbed the wet ones out of a nearby washer. They then ducked out the door and started speed walking back to the Clocktower, somewhat hampered by the clothes.
*******
Hmm… free car ride. Where am I going to end up though, I wonder? Why do I even care? I'll just go with the flow- see where life takes me.
While on the balcony Lily had had time to think, and think she did. What was more, she'd even made a decision.
Why should I keep following May? It won't get me anywhere; I should just settle down somewhere, maybe even here. May can do well enough on her own, even with all the risks she's been taking. It's her problem, not mine- why should I worry about her?
She dug her claws into Barbara's leg, kneading, purring. They say animals can sense people's personalities- Lily could tell that she was sitting on the lap of a very nice person.
"Isn't it cute? Aww..." Barbara scratched the Lily under the chin and was rewarded with another increase in purring volume.
Wade rolled his eyes from the driver's seat, but Barbara didn't notice.
As Wade pulled the car up beside the sidewalk outside the Clocktower Barbara finally looked up from the cat's sandy-coloured fur and blue-green eyes… she furrowed her brow for a second, trying to put her finger on her thoughts, but at that second Wade opened the car door and offered his hand to help Barbara out into her wheelchair. Graciously she accepted the offer and, when she was comfortably settled in the chair, headed into the Clocktower with the cat on her lap.
As Barbara and Wade made their way out of the elevator, they saw a box filled with dry and half dry clothes on the floor amid the computers. The cat immediately jumped off Barbara's lap to sniff at the cardboard box and it's unfolded contents.
"Helena! Dinah! Anyone here!" Barbara called up the stairs.
"Here, we're here!" came Dinah's reply from Helena's bedroom. Fearing the worst she again shouted again. "What are you doing?"
Helena's head, complete with the rest of her, appeared at the top of the stairs. Dinah came up behind her a second later.
"Dinah has something to tell you," Helena said, "in private."
Wade looked at Helena then walked out of the room, taking the hint. "I know, shop talk." He shouted over his shoulder. "I'll be in here!"
Barbara narrowed her eyes at Helena. "What's this all about?"
"I… had a dream; last night. It… she stared down at the cat in Barbara's lap as she struggled for words. "Um, Helena?" She pointed at the cat. Helena turned her gaze to it, then looked at the picture in her hands, then once again looked back at the cat.
"Oh, you like it? It decided to poach some of our shrimp at the restaurant." Barbara said, misreading the gesture. Then she took the picture Helena silently handed to her and looked at it. "Helena, I didn't know you were into photography!"
"No Barbara. Look at that lizard's eyes, then look at the cat's." She did.
"O-kay. So the cat and the lizard have the same eyes. Big de-?" The redhead's eyes widened as she studied the printed image closer, then stared into the cat's green orbs. She picked up the cat and looked past it at Dinah.
"The picture and the cat both have human eyes!"
Aw crap! The gig's up! Time to go…
Lily tried to struggle out of Barbara's grip, but the more she struggled the tighter the woman's grip became.
Not good, this is not good! Why... won't... she... let... me... go! Each mind-uttered word was followed by an attempt to free herself. Fine, want to play it that way! I'll bite!
Barbara released her grip on the madly struggling cat as it's teeth dug into her hand. It was gone within a heartbeat, hidden somewhere in the Clocktower.
Where the Hell is that cat! It must be somewhere in here! Or maybe not...
Helena led the way out onto the balcony, where the sandy fur of the cat was ruffled by the light evening breeze. It backed away slowly, hissing and spitting, until one of it's feet was met by open sky.
I could get away... but what's the use? They'll be on the lookout for me from now on; I won't be able to come here anymore. They seem nice.
Lily finally made her decision, and the sandy coloured fur was replaced by long dark-gold hair.
"What... the... hell..." Helena muttered under her breath. Barbara was too shocked to say anything. It was Dinah who spoke to the girl standing before the stunned trio.
"May?"
.:Appearances can be Deceiving:.
Green eyes reflected light and shadow alike as it's head slowly turned. The eyes slightly narrowed as they rested on Barbara and Wade, now being served a giant variety platter. Small precise paws padded to the end of the branch, then became airborne as the furry body was propelled onto the balcony. Speed was of the essence as the cat dashed between legs, both table and human. It's fur was slicked back by a wind of it's own creation as it leaped on the table currently occupied by Barbara and Wade and swiped a paw at a large prawn on the edge of Wade's plate.
"Come here kitty! What are you doing?" Barbara said to the cat as she snatched it from the tabletop. "Here you are, have one of mine." Barbara dropped a prawn into the cat's open mouth and watched as it chewed.
Wade seemed less than pleased. "Are you sure you should give it one of those? It is our lunch, and this was meant to be our special time together."
"Are you jealous of a cat? It was just hungry; don't worry about it stealing our time together. I don't think that's very likely to happen."
Just as the two (and the cat) were getting back to their lunch, the waiter came to the table.
"I am afraid that we cannot allow animals in here for health reasons. If you insist on keeping that cat with you then you must leave."
Barbara thought for a moment and then got up. "Can we get the rest of our meal to take home?" The waiter nodded and took their barely touched plates to the kitchen.
"As I was saying," Wade said as they made their way to the front desk, "I don't think they allow cats in here."
*******
Richard sat in his armchair in front of the fireplace, waiting for Jack to come back. He would go out and do his own work instead of relying on bumbling idiots like him, but he was wanted in at least five states. This was one of them. But here was the only place where he could carry out his plan, a plan of pain and revenge.
No disguise could hide his muscular six-foot-eleven-inch tall body, or the brutal scar that went all the way across his forehead. He had got that scar years ago from a woman -a woman!- dressed up as a bat. She had paraded around the rooftops at night, dispatching criminals, making everything against the law her business to end. He had sold stolen weapons on the black market for a living. Every week a new shipment had arrived with him at it's head, ready to receive tens of thousands of dollars for his pains. But for that costumed woman, he would be filthy stinking rich right now.
He wasn't thinking about any of that right now. His attention was focused solely on the future, and his revenge. Soon…
The door opened, revealing Jack dragging a teenager behind him. Her hands were tied behind her back and her mouth was gagged and taped closed with duct tape. Her light brown hair was falling out of the ponytail it had been tied up in just half an hour ago. She fell forward onto the expensive Persian rug as Jack triumphantly shoved her forward.
"I got one! Hardly put up any fight at all."
Richard eyed his employee for a minute, letting the man get the full force of the anger in his gaze. Jack shrank back towards the door.
"How could you be so rude? Here, let me help you up." Ripping the tape off and untying her hands, Richard held out his hand to the girl. She roughly shoved it aside.
"I don't need help." She pushed herself up and stood tall before the expensively dressed man. She looked like a doll beside his considerable height.
"Fine, that's all right. Jack!"
"Y-y-yessir?"
"You are dismissed. I asked you to bring me a girl, not rap one up in duck tape and present her to me like a hunting trophy!"
Without a backward glance Jack rushed out of the room, slamming the door on his coat in the process. The last the teenager saw of him was a coat hem dragged from between the door and its frame. Everything was deathly quiet for a minute after his departure.
Richard was the first to speak, and, like the gentlemen he wasn't he started with a polite question.
"So, what is your name?"
"Why should I tell you?"
He pondered for a minute, pretending to think, then answered, "Why not?" He had been prepared for this all along.
The girl narrowed her eyes as she answered. "May. Who wants to know?"
"My name is Richard. It's a pleasure to meet you." The way he stressed the word 'pleasure' implied that it was anything but. "Now May, I'd like to ask you a favour. You won't have to do much, just stand around. Will you do it for me? Afterwards you can go straight back to wherever you came from."
It was May's turn to ponder for a second.
What does he want me to do? It can't be that bad, if it's just standing around. Then I can ditch this place and give the police the heads up about their child abductor. What's the worst that could happen?
"Fine, I'll do this one thing for you. Then I'm out of here, got it?"
"Perfectly."
*******
Helena stood next to Dinah, watching the washing go round in the machine. She had just told Dinah her story and was awaiting the verdict as the teenager gaped at the photo. They stood in silence, ignoring the people staring at them. It wasn't every day that you saw a beautiful dark-haired woman dressed totally in black leather at the local Laundromat.
Finally Dinah spoke, breaking through the gentle sounds of average people washing, drying, and folding their clothes.
"That's it. The panther, the songbird, and now the lizard."
"What's next?" Helena asked, though apparently to no one in particular.
Dinah still vividly remembered her dream, and answered, "A wolf."
Helena looked at her with narrowed eyes and a head tilted slightly to one side. "Is there something you're not telling me? I'm sorta getting that feeling…"
"I had a dream, that's all." Dinah cut in. "But that's not the point. Right now we have to see if it's still there. You can grab the laundry." Dinah pulled the dry clothes out of a dryer as Helena grabbed the wet ones out of a nearby washer. They then ducked out the door and started speed walking back to the Clocktower, somewhat hampered by the clothes.
*******
Hmm… free car ride. Where am I going to end up though, I wonder? Why do I even care? I'll just go with the flow- see where life takes me.
While on the balcony Lily had had time to think, and think she did. What was more, she'd even made a decision.
Why should I keep following May? It won't get me anywhere; I should just settle down somewhere, maybe even here. May can do well enough on her own, even with all the risks she's been taking. It's her problem, not mine- why should I worry about her?
She dug her claws into Barbara's leg, kneading, purring. They say animals can sense people's personalities- Lily could tell that she was sitting on the lap of a very nice person.
"Isn't it cute? Aww..." Barbara scratched the Lily under the chin and was rewarded with another increase in purring volume.
Wade rolled his eyes from the driver's seat, but Barbara didn't notice.
As Wade pulled the car up beside the sidewalk outside the Clocktower Barbara finally looked up from the cat's sandy-coloured fur and blue-green eyes… she furrowed her brow for a second, trying to put her finger on her thoughts, but at that second Wade opened the car door and offered his hand to help Barbara out into her wheelchair. Graciously she accepted the offer and, when she was comfortably settled in the chair, headed into the Clocktower with the cat on her lap.
As Barbara and Wade made their way out of the elevator, they saw a box filled with dry and half dry clothes on the floor amid the computers. The cat immediately jumped off Barbara's lap to sniff at the cardboard box and it's unfolded contents.
"Helena! Dinah! Anyone here!" Barbara called up the stairs.
"Here, we're here!" came Dinah's reply from Helena's bedroom. Fearing the worst she again shouted again. "What are you doing?"
Helena's head, complete with the rest of her, appeared at the top of the stairs. Dinah came up behind her a second later.
"Dinah has something to tell you," Helena said, "in private."
Wade looked at Helena then walked out of the room, taking the hint. "I know, shop talk." He shouted over his shoulder. "I'll be in here!"
Barbara narrowed her eyes at Helena. "What's this all about?"
"I… had a dream; last night. It… she stared down at the cat in Barbara's lap as she struggled for words. "Um, Helena?" She pointed at the cat. Helena turned her gaze to it, then looked at the picture in her hands, then once again looked back at the cat.
"Oh, you like it? It decided to poach some of our shrimp at the restaurant." Barbara said, misreading the gesture. Then she took the picture Helena silently handed to her and looked at it. "Helena, I didn't know you were into photography!"
"No Barbara. Look at that lizard's eyes, then look at the cat's." She did.
"O-kay. So the cat and the lizard have the same eyes. Big de-?" The redhead's eyes widened as she studied the printed image closer, then stared into the cat's green orbs. She picked up the cat and looked past it at Dinah.
"The picture and the cat both have human eyes!"
Aw crap! The gig's up! Time to go…
Lily tried to struggle out of Barbara's grip, but the more she struggled the tighter the woman's grip became.
Not good, this is not good! Why... won't... she... let... me... go! Each mind-uttered word was followed by an attempt to free herself. Fine, want to play it that way! I'll bite!
Barbara released her grip on the madly struggling cat as it's teeth dug into her hand. It was gone within a heartbeat, hidden somewhere in the Clocktower.
Where the Hell is that cat! It must be somewhere in here! Or maybe not...
Helena led the way out onto the balcony, where the sandy fur of the cat was ruffled by the light evening breeze. It backed away slowly, hissing and spitting, until one of it's feet was met by open sky.
I could get away... but what's the use? They'll be on the lookout for me from now on; I won't be able to come here anymore. They seem nice.
Lily finally made her decision, and the sandy coloured fur was replaced by long dark-gold hair.
"What... the... hell..." Helena muttered under her breath. Barbara was too shocked to say anything. It was Dinah who spoke to the girl standing before the stunned trio.
"May?"